Progress! I see progress!

Good things are happening this week on the adoption front! 

I am excited to share that after 9 LONG weeks of waiting for our case to be assigned to an immigration officier, it has happened!  We anticipate that tomorrow we will have approval to bring a child into our country! 

The dossier is a group of documents about our family that are sent to China.  This includes our homestudy, birth and marriage certificates, employement varification, criminal back ground checks and a few other things.  Each of those documents have to be notorized and the authenticated by the Sec of State in the state they were notorized in.  They are then sent to a Chinese Consulute to be authenticated.  There are several consulates throughout the United States.  Each state is assigned to a specific consulate.  While most of our documents originated in MO, our birth certificates and Jeff's employment letter did not, so they had to go to different locations then the majority of our documents. 

Seven weeks ago I sent off 3 documents to be authenticated by the proper Consulates.  Today we received 1 of the 3 documents. I am so thankful to have that document and know that it is not lost!  I am not sure why it took so long to get the seal on the back of the State Authentication, but what is there to do!  I am hopeful that the other 2 documents will be back soon! 

What's next?  As soon as we get our letter of approval for immigration, we will take it along with several other documents to the Sec of State's office to be authenticated.  We will then send all of the documents to a courier service in Chicago.  She will take them to the Consulate and then return to pick them up when they are ready.  That whole process will take 10 days!  Then off to our agency they will go, to be forwarded to China!

So that brings you up to speed on the adoption front!  On a different note, I would like to share with you a passage of scripture I read a few days ago.

2 Samuel 22: 31-37 "As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless.  He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.  For who is God besided the Lord?  And who is the Rock except our God?  It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.  He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights.  He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a blow of bronze.  You give me your shield of victory; you stoop down to make me great.  You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn."

 

The feet of the deer interested me.  A female deer can place her hind feet in the exact place that her front feet just stepped.  They can do it without being even an 1 inch off.  In the same way, we can step exactly in the path that God has for us.  After we make the right steps, we can stand in confidence!

 

I don't know where you are today.  Things might be going great!  There are others that might be struggling to see what God has in store for you.  I pray that you will let God be like the front feet of the deer, so that you can step in the very paths that he has prepared for you.

 

Why Adoption? Why China?

Many have asked or thought why are you adopting?  I thought I would take a few minutes to share my heart with you.
First, the need for adoptive parents is HUGE!  There is a need here and all around the world.  It is so sad to me that there are over 140 million orphans in our world.  While most are not available for adoption, there are thousands that are. 

Some have asked why are we not adopting domestically.  There is no doubt that there is a need for adoptive parents for the many boys and girls that are in the US.  The majority of children that are placed for adoption through the foster care system are adopted by their foster parents.  We simply don't feel God directing us to be foster parents at this point in our lives.  The wait to adopt a child without being foster parents is very lengthy.  We also believe that we should not adopt a child that would interupt our children's birth order.  Sam is almost 18 months old, so we are adopting a child that is younger then he is. 

The next question we have been asked is why are we adopting from China?  The first thing I will say is that both Jeff and I have a real love for the Asian culture.  Before we decided on China I did a great deal of research about other countries.  Many countries are far more costly and require a lot more time spent in their country.  We had to factor those things into our decision.  There are also many counties whose adoption processes are not very stable. Some only adopt older children and then others that we don't fall within the given criteria for adoption in that country.  With all of that in mind and our love for the Asian culture, China was the right country for us. 

I am going to close where I really should have started.  The most important thing in our lives is Jesus.  Our desire above all else is to be obedient to God.  There is no doubt that my first encounter with orphans, while I was a teen was the the starting point of God preparing me for adoption.  I am so thankful for the things that I have experienced and the confidence from God that this is the right choice for our family!

A verse that has become very dear to me is John 10:10  "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."  Our lives are full... they are blessed and I am confident that our obedience to God will fill us to overflowing!  Oh, what a feeling!